There are numerous types of container holders disclosed in the literature and that are available that serve to hold drinking cups. Some of these containers are characterized by the fact that they are capable of being suspended and that they afford insulation qualities to either keep the liquid in the container cool or hot. Others provide means for suspending a drinking cup to a ledge or a platform such as are available in automobiles, boats and other vehicles. While others merely are capable of being hand held by the user and serve to keep the liquid in the container as close to the original temperature as possible over as long a period of time as possible.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,765 granted to Harmony on Jan. 1, 1980 and entitled "Insulator for Canned Drinks" discloses an elongated sheet or blanket that is wrapped around a receptacle that has overlapping ends with a strip of adhesive to secure it in place. The insulator holds a drinking cup or can adapted to be hand carried.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,089 granted to Wright et al and entitled "Universal Cup Holder" discloses a two arm configuration attached to a back support defining an open channel cylinder receptacle adapted to receive different sized containers. The support structure in addition to the two arms consists of a back vertical member and a bottom horizontal member, each being adaptable to accept a strip of Velcro material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,675 granted to Lerew et al on Oct. 17, 1972 entitled "Portable Holder" is a unitary rigid body defining a cylindrical cavity closed on the bottom for holding a container and a vertical back plate that includes an offset end portion that is adaptable to engage the back of a chair or the like to support the container holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,910 granted to March on Aug. 28, 1990 and entitled "Vertically Adjustable Velcro Strap Drink Holder" discloses a drink holder that includes a vertical L-shaped back with an offset to be attached to a ledge or the like for holding it in place and a complementary flat plate with a Velcro strip on its back face to engage a complementary velcro strip on the front face of the vertical member. This allows the two members to be mounted in different vertical positions to accommodate different sized containers. A pair of straps with Velcro strips extend laterally from the vertical back and are inserted between the two members and attached to one to hold the drink container that rests on the horizontal extension of the L-shaped back.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,337 granted to Iwasaki on Apr. 10, 1990 entitled "Flexible Cup Holder" discloses a flexible unit that includes a relatively narrow rigid U-shaped back with a horizontal and vertical flexible straps that engage the cup for support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,273 granted to Grant on Nov. 24, 1987 entitled "Container Holder" discloses spaced closed and open hoops, a horizontal bottom support and a tab that is adapted to fit over the belt of the user. The container fits into the aperture formed by the spaced hoops and rests on the bottom support to be removed by the user to drink from the container.
Many of these configurations of container holders include various means for suspending a drinking cup at various locations. Some are for suspending the cup to the belt of the user and others are capable of being suspended in various types of vehicles. While they are, more or less, adequate for the particular purpose for which they have been designed they include certain deficiencies in a number of different respects. For example, some can only be utilized specifically for a single purpose for which they were designed. That is to say that the holder for the belt is limited to one who happens to be wearing a garment that will accommodate that particular unit. Other holders have brackets that are only capable of engaging certain configurations for supporting the holder. Many of the heretofore known holders that are adapted to be suspended in a moving vehicle are susceptible of swinging or swaying such that the contents can spill from the container chafe or mar the adjacent surface.
The container holder and support of my invention is characterized as being flexible and capable of many uses. That is to say, that it has many types of applications, as for example, it can be utilized to hold the container in various locations in an automobile, boat or other such vehicle. The back vertical support is made from material that is pliable yet sufficiently rigid to support the drinking cup. Consequently it can be bent at will with little effort by the user to be suspended at various types of supports and locations. As for example, it fits over the window slot or well or the back of the seat of an automobile or other type vehicle. It can also be bent to fit the belt of the user, or a hole in the top of the vertical back allows it to be supported to a nail, hook or the like in a vertical wall or door. Locating Velcro strips to the bottom of the horizontal portion of the bracket and the location where it will rest supports the drinking cup in the holder on any horizontal ledge.
The insulated blanket container holder can be detached from the holder and be hand held. It is contemplated within the scope of this invention that the blanket is a flat, flexible and resilient sponge material that is sufficiently long so that the ends overlap each other to form an open-ended chamber. Various sizes predicated by the amount of overlap will accommodate different sizes of drinking cups. Velcro strips at the edges will hold the blanket in the selected size to accommodate the drinking receptacle and allow the user to remove it as the need requires.
The holder support bracket is a substantially narrow thin flat elongated member that is fabricated from a pliable yet sufficiently sturdy material that allows the user to bend the member into various shapes to complement the support to which it is being attached. The holder support element, like the blanket container holder, carries attaching means for holding the container holder in position and for being attached to the various supports. In one of the embodiments it is contemplated that a hole at the proximal end of the holder support element allows the support to be held by a conventional nail or projection attached to the wall or the like. It is further contemplated by this invention that the outer surface of the blanket is adaptable of having indicia, logos printed thereon or having various colors for enhancing its appearance, identifying the owner of the holder, for advertising or for other like purposes.